Retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material



Nov. 13, 1934. R, ADDY ET AL 1,980,245 RETORT FOR USE IN THE LOW TEMPERATURE DISTILLATION O F CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL Filed Dec. 23, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 NOV. 13, 1934. R ADDY-ET AL 1,980,245

RETORT FOR USE IN THE LOW TEMPERATURE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL Nov. 13, 1934- R. ADDY ET AL v 1,980,245

RETORT FOR USE IN THE LOW TEMPERATURE DISTILLATION OF CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL Filed Dec. 25, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet s &

1 201/756 EHOBI Patented Nov. 13, 1934 RETORT on USE IN THE LOW TEDlPERA- TUBE nIsTi L 'rIeN or CARBONACEOUS A RlAL Roland Addy and Sidney Gill, Barnsley, and

Charles William -'llozer, Westminster, England,

assi'gnors to The CarltcnMain Colliery Company- Limited, Barnsley, England, a British company Application December 23,

In Great" Britain 1930, Serial No. 504,338 January 7, 1930 12 Claims. a (01. eta-221) This invention relates to retorts for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous materialfmore' particularly coal) and of the kind comprising two' vertical concentric chambers i forming between th em a space into which the coal or other carbonaceous material is placed for being heated in order to carbonize it, and from which the carbonized material 'is discharged through the lower end of the outer chamber.

according to the invention means are provided for raising the inner chamber when it is desired to discharge the carbonized material from the space between the two chambers, and the upper part of the inner chamber is preferably formed with a member or portion serving, when the chamber is lowered to close or seal the upper end of the outer chamber. The coal or other carbonaceous material may be prevented from falling out through'the lower endof the outer chamber by means of a hinged door which is not necessarily gas-tight and which, of course, is moved to uncover the said opening when the carbonized material is to be discharged. The coal or othermaterial may be fed into the aforesaid space (termed the coal space) between the two cham fil's, when the inner chamber is in its lowermost position, through suitable passages or compartments formed in the upper end of the inner chamber, and the said'coal space may communicate in any suitable manner with the main outlet conduit for the evolved gases which are herein termed the distillatesv The coal space communicates with a pipe the outer end of which may be associated. with a water seal which serves toclose the main outlet conduit when the inner chamber is'raised.

The outer chamber is disposed in a space formed in brickwork of substantial thickness and this space (termed the heating space) serves for the flow of hot gases used to heat the carbonaceous material to the required temperature. In one form the outer chamber is heated externally only by the hot gases passing through theheating space, but in another construction the material may be heated both externally and internally, the internal heating being'eiiected by causing the hot gases or a portion thereof to flow through the interior of the inner chamber, in which case the latter is provided with a passage or passages for the heating gases. In another construction the inner chamber may be constructed to receive another chamber (herein termed the central chamber) so as to provide between these chambers an annular space for the reception ofanother charge of coal and the interior oi this central chamber is formed. for the flow of hot gases; in this construction two charges of coal are therefore carbonized simultaneously one in the space between the inner and outer chambers and one in the space between the inner chamber and the central chamber.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into efiect, the same will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a vertical axial section showing two retorts in one setting, these retorts representing two alternative constructions according to the invention, a

Figure 1a is a view on a larger scale, of one of the water seals shown in Figure 1,

Figure 2 is a view on a larger scale of the left hand retort of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a section taken approximately on the bent line 3, 3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a top plan of Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a local section taken approximately on the line 5, 5 of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 but with the plane of section at right angles to that of Figure 2,

Figure 7 is a section taken approximately on the bent line 7, '7 of Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a section taken approximately on the line 8, 8 of Figure 6,

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing two further constructions, and

Figure 10 is a view similar to the upper part of Figure 1 showing modifications of the constructions according to the latter figure.

A, A are the aforesaid outer chambers which are made of metal and are circular in crosssection. These chambers may be cylindrical or they may be slightly tapered with the smallest diameter at the top and are arranged in brickwork A of substantial thickness with annular heating spaces A around the chambers A for the flow of heated gases the direction of movement of which is represented by arrows in the various figures of the drawings. B, B are the aforesaid inner chambers which are also made of metal and circular in cross-section and may be cylindrical or, tapered to the same extent as the outer chambers A; in either case coal spaces B are left between the inner walls of the chambers A and the outer Walls of the chambers B which coal spaces have a width preferably not exceeding six inches; the latter spaces are for the reception of the coal or other carbonaceous material-to be carbonized. The upper part of each of the inner chambers B is formed with a conical portion B resting on a conical seating A at the upper part of the outer chamber, preferably with suitable packing material interposed. The coal is prevented from falling out through the lower end of the outer chamber when the retort is in operation, by means of a hinged door C shaped to conform to the shape of the lower end of the inner chamber as shown. This door, which is not necessarily gas tight, is moved to uncover the lower end of the outer chamber when the carbonized material is to be discharged. The inner chamber is raised, when the carbonized material is to be discharged, by any suitable means which may form part of the structure, such as by rams disposed in cylinders D (Figure 9) to which steam, liquid or air under pressure can be admitted or by means of a travelling crane ll (Figures 1 and 10) which lifts the inner chamber by means of a chain or cable. Alternatively the weight of the inner chamber can be partly counter-balanced, in which case hand operated gearing of any suitable character could be employed for raising it.

Referring to the construction of retort shown at the right hand portion of Figure 1, this comprises a single inner chamber B in which provision is made for heating the coal in the coal space B internally as well as externally, the external heating being eifected by the hot gases in the heating space A as aforesaid and the internal heating being efiected by the flow of hot gases through passages B in the chamber B as will be understood from the ensuing detailed description of Figures 2 to 8 of the drawings. The means for charging coalinto the space B and the means for withdrawing the distillates will also be understood from the said detailed description. The inner wall of the chamber B is provided with longitudinal strengthening ribs B and the outer surface of the chamber A is provided with longitudinal heat conducting ribs a which are shown in Figures 2 and 8.

Referring to the other construction illustrated in Figure 1, there is provided another chamber E (herein termed the central chamber) which is disposed within the chamber B so as to leave a second annular coal space E externally by the hot gases flowing in the aforesaid heating passages B and internally by hot gases flowing in the interior of the central chamber E. We will first describe the details of the chamber B with reference more particularly to Figures 2 to 8. The distillates resulting from the carbonization of the coal in the space B pass upwardly and enter compartments B at the upper end of the chamber B through passages shown in Figure 5. From these'compartments the distillates flow through lateral passages B to an annular compartment B from which the distillates pass through an opening b in a cover plate to the main outlet conduit F ashereinafter described. The compartments B also serve for the supply of coal to the space B and for this purpose they communicate with openings b in the cover plate which are closed bydoors (not shown) when the retort is in operation. The chamber B comprises inner and outer cylinders 12, b respectively forming an annular space therebetween which space is divided into the passages B by ribs or webs b Two of the ribs or webs b extend to the bottom of the chamber B and the others terminate some distance from the bottom to provide openings b (Figure 2) for gases. of the said passages communicate with lateral which is heated The upper ends passages B which register with holes A formed in the adjacent portion of the outer chamber A, which holes in turn register with passages in the surrounding brickwork for the supply of the gases. The construction above described also applies to the form shown at the right hand portion of Figure 1.

The central chamber E will now be described. So far as the withdrawal of the distillates from the space E and the supply of coal thereto are concerned, the construction is similar to that above described with reference to the chamber B, that is to say the upper end of the space E communicates by means of passages shown in Figure 5 with compartments E which in turn communicate by means of lateral passages E with an annular compartment E from which the distillates pass through an opening E in a cover plate to the main outlet conduit F. Coal is supplied to the space E through openings e in the cover plate, these openings communieating with the upper parts of the'compartments E and being closed by doors (not shown) when the retort is in operation. The upper part of the central chamber E is formed with a conical portion E which rests on a conical seating B at the upper part of the chamber B, preferably with a packing material interposed. The interior of the chamber E is provided with a cen-- tral web E which terminates some distance from the bottom of the chamber so as to provide a passage for the flow of the heating gases from one side to the other. The heating gases pass into and out of the interior of the chamber E through lateral openings E which register with lateral passages B in the upper part of the chamber B. These passages B", which are at right angles to the aforesaid lateral passages B register with holes A formed inthe adjacent portion of the outer chamber in turn communicate with passages in the surrounding brickwork for the heating gases. The interior of the chamber E is formed with longitudinal heat conducting ribs e The upper part of the chamber A is provided with an internal shoulder A which prevents the coke in the space B from moving upwards during the raising of the chamber B and when the chamber E is provided the chamber B has a similar shoulder B for a similar purpose.

The aforesaid compartments B in the chamber B communicate with a pipe F the outer end of which, in all the constructions except Figure I0, is associated with a water seal G serving to close the main outlet conduit F when thechamber B is raised. The central chamber E, where this is provided, carries a similar pipe F which communicates with the compartments E and is also associated with a similar seal. The said water seal, which is shown on a larger scale in Figure 1a, comprises a chamber G provided with a transverse diaphragm G2 which divides the chamber into two parts. The main outlet conduit F communicates with the lower compartment of this chamber and the upper compartment receives an outstanding flange F on the pipe 13. The said upper compartment is filled with water which is prevented from entering the lower compartment by an upstanding sleeve G: on the diaphragm G the latter also having a downwardly extending sleeve G The lower end of the pipe F projects through the diaphragm G as shown in Figure 1a; In operation when the chamber B or the chambers B and E are raised water is introduced into the lower compartment of the chamber G in a sure A, which holes movement of the inner chamber.

ficient, quantity, to cover the main outlet conduit, F, thereby'preventing air'being drawn inzor the distillates from flowing. back through the said conduit to. atmosphere. When the chamber or chambers are lowered and carbonization, commences the distillates passing throughthepipe, F force a portion of the water in the lower; com.- partment. of the chamber G through the main outlet conduit F until the water reaches the level shown in Figure 1a. It will be understood; that during this operationthe water inthe upper com partment of the chamber Gv prevents the passage of. distillates from the pipe F to the atmosphere;

In the construction shown. at the righthand portion of Figure 9, the inner chamber B isarranged to be heated externally only and is in, the form of a hollow member having a conicaLupperpart: b with a. space b between it and the part b formed. with annular compartment b which communicates with the pipe F The dis tillates pass upwards into th space h and thence into the compartment I) through the openings shown. If desired the wall of the inner chamber- B may be formed with upwardly directed apertures b for the passage of part of the distillates into the interior of the said chamber from which they flow into the space b through shielded perforations in the conical portion b The coal is charged into the annular coal space B through an opening b which is normally closed by a door. In the construction shown at the left hand portion of Figure 9 the chamber B is made in a similar manner to that hereinbefore described with reference to the central chamber E except that the chamber B has a double wall to provide an annular space 73 into which the distillates or a portion of the distillates flow through apertures 12 in the outer wall. The upper part of the chamber 3 is suitably constructed for conducting the distillates into the pipe F and for charging the coal space B with coal.

The constructions shown in Figure 10 are similar to the corresponding constructions shown in Figure 1 except that the distillates flow into a chamber A attached to the upper end of the chamber A. This chamber A is normally closed by a door A and is of sufficient size to permit the inner chamber B to pass therethrough when the door is opened. The pipe F is connected to the chamber A and as the latter is stationary this construction obviates the necessity of providing the water seal hereinbeiore described.

When the central chamber E is provided, this is first raised and lowered alone at the end of the carbonizing operation in order to dislodge the coke from the annular space E, whereupon the chamber B is raised and lowered (carrying with it the chamber E) in order to dislodge the coke from the space B Generally the raising of the inner chamber will dislodge the coke which falls out from the lower open end of the outer chamber, but if this material should adhere to the inner wall of the outer chamber the lowering of the inner chamber will dislodge it, particularly if the upper part of the latter be provided with short external ribs or projections which, after the inner chamber has been angularly displaced when in the uppermost position, bear upon the upper part of the coke during the downward The same considerations apply to the central chamber when this is providec. In some instances there may be two retorts arranged side by side with their inner chambers connected to a common beam or transverse member, in which case the ribs or projections onthe two inner chamb s ma bear ans d; indifferent angular positions so that by, an ularly displacing-the beam through an angle of 18 0? when the inner chambers have been raised completely from the outer chambers, and allowing or causing the inner-chambers to move downwards intothe other-chambers, the said ribs or projections willengage withthe upper portions or the carbonized material within the outer chambers and'thus effectively discharge the said material. The carbonized material preferably falls into a hopper H provided at its lower end With a gastight door H which is maintained in its closed position during the carbonizing operation.

What We claimand desireto secure by Letters Patentot the United States is:

1. In a retort for use in the low temperature distillationoof carbonaceous material, the combination of an outer retort chamber, an inner chamber located within the outer chamber, the lateral walls. of the outer and inner chambers being spaced. horizontally from each other thereby forminga space between them adapted to re-. ceive said material, means for heating said mate-,-. rial insaid space, a closure member for closing the lower end of said space when the material is being heated and removable to permit discharge of said material from said lower end, and means to move the inner chamber upwardly in relation to the outer retort chamber to facilitate discharge of the said material.

2. In a retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material, the combination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of passage compartments formed in the upper end of the inner chamber and adapted for feeding the carbonaceous material into the space between the two chambers.

3. In a retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material, the combination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of passage compartments formed in the upper end of the inner chamber adapted for feeding the carbonaceous material into the space between the two chambers, a main outlet conduit for the distillates, and further passages or compartments in the upper end of the inner chamber which latter passages or compartments and the first mentioned passages or compartments are for conveying distillates from said space to said main outlet conduit.

4. In a retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material, the combination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of a stationary chamber at the top of the outer chamber, means whereby the distillates may flow from said space into said stationary chamber, a door adapted for closing the upper end of said stationary chamber and means whereby the inner chamber may be lifted through said stationary chamber.

5. In a retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material, the combination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of brickwork of substantial thickness so surrounding the outer chamber so as to leave a space therebetween adapted for the flow of heating gases whereby to heat the carbonaceous material to the required temperature.

6. In a retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material, the combi-- nation with the elements claimed in claim 1, of a central chamber disposed within. the inner chamber so as to leave an annular space between the inner and central chambers for the reception of an additional charge of carbonaceous material, and means for raising said central chamber to discharge the carbonized material downwards from said space.

7. In a retort for usein the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material, the combination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of an internal shouldercarried by the upper part of the outer chamber, said shoulder being adapted to prevent the carbonized material from moving upwards during the raising of the inner chamber.

8. In a retort for use in the low temperature distillation of carbonaceous material, the combination with the elements claimed in claim 1, of short external ribs extending from the upper part of the inner chamber. i

9. In a retort of the class described, the combination of a pair of vertical concentrically arranged cylinders each formed of spaced walls and located in spaced relation to provide an elongated fuel retort chamber therebetween, the upper extremity of one of the cylinders being provided with an outwardly flaring inclined face, the

other cylinder being provided with an inclined face and being supported by the inclined face of the first mentioned cylinder, means for moving one of the cylinders vertically with respect to the other, ports formed in the walls of the cylinders to permit passage into the chambers, and a closure-for the lower end of the fuel chamber.

' 10. In a retort of the class described, the combination of a pair of vertical concentrically arranged cylinders each formed of spaced walls and an elon- 7 located in spaced relation to provide gated fuel retort chamber therebetween, one of said chambers being provided with an inclined outwardly flaring portion for engaging the other. cylinder to seal the intermediate chamber, means 

